Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce Recipe

In this article

• What is the hottest hot sauce?
• Getting to know the Carolina Reaper better
• Cooking with Carolina Reaper
• How to make Carolina Reaper hot sauce?
• Kitchen tips
• Do you still have questions?

Can you handle the heat? If you’re up for the challenge, there’s nothing better than the spicy hit of a roasted Carolina Reaper pepper, and this homemade Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce packs a punch!

Get yourself an icy-cold glass of water at the ready because this Carolina Reaper hot sauce recipe will blow your taste buds. Prepared with all the richness of chilli, garlic, and onion, this sauce is perfect for those who like it hot. Not only is it super-flavourful, but this recipe is so easy and fun to make and will become a staple in your hot sauce pantry for good. But before we turn up the heat, let’s get our hands on some fun chilli facts.

What is the hottest hot sauce?

You say hot and spicy, we say Carolina Reaper! Why? It has officially been named the world’s hottest pepper by Guinness World Records and aptly named to come with a warning.

440 times hotter than its younger cousin, the jalapeno, the Carolina Reaper has a Scoville rating of 1,400,000 – 2,200,000 SHU. The only other pepper competitor that comes close is the Trinidad Scorpion that measures a whopping 1,500,00-2,009,231 SHU.

Getting to know the Carolina Reaper better

The producer of this exclusive hot pepper is Smokin’ Ed Currie. His South Carolina-based Puckerbutt Pepper Company has developed a hybrid from red habanero and Naja Viper pepper, another pepper that was once known as the hottest pepper in the world. All he wanted to do was to develop a sweet pepper with a little more strength, and before he knew it, he set a record! The chilli has inherited a scorpion-like tail from Naja Viper and Trinidad Scorpion. It is a red pepper with a total length of about 1.5-2 inches and is the sweetest hot pepper you will find. The Carolina Reaper is not only one of the hottest chillies in the world, but one of the most flavourful and makes one very tasty hot sauce, check out the recipe below.

Cooking with Carolina reaper

This sizzling variety is far too pungent to be eaten raw, and even preparing fresh ones with bare hands can cause skin burns, so cooking them in a dish like a hot sauce is the best way to go. If you do prepare them raw, we recommend wearing gloves when working with them and avoid touching other parts of your skin, especially your face or eyes.

These peppers also emit fumes whilst cooking that can make breathing difficult, so be sure to open as many windows as possible and use a fan to fight the fumes. Or even better, try cooking the peppers outdoors, preferably on the grill.

How to make Carolina reaper hot sauce?

Far from your average homemade hot sauce, this Carolina Reaper hot sauce recipe will knock your socks off and is only for the greatest of chilli fiends.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Cuisine: American

Calories: 2000 cal

Servings: 60 teaspoons

Ingredients

You don’t need anything fancy to prepare it.

• Carolina Reaper Peppers – 7 peppers
• Water – ¼ cup
• Lemon – ½ (for its juice)
• Vinegar – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• Sugar – ½ teaspoon

Method

1. Destem peppers and cut them in half. Place them on the baking tray keeping the skin side up.
2. Grill the chillies for 7 minutes until it starts turning black
3. Remove it from the oven and add it to the blender along with all the ingredients
4. Turn on the blender and let it do its job.
5. Store it carefully in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Warning: Don’t dare to lick it off. This is the hottest sauce you will ever taste.

Kitchen tips!

Like experimenting? This recipe has no hard and fast rules, think of it as a basic starter sauce that you can put your own spin on. Add extra ingredients, mix up the chilli varieties, or try roasting the garlic before processing for a super sweet flavour.

Another important ingredient in getting the best flavour out of your hot sauce is the vinegar. It’s important to find a good-quality vinegar that will add depth to the dish and work well with the fruity flavours fo the chillies. White vinegar works well, but you can also try apple cider vinegar for a hit of fruity sweet and sourness.

You can also enhance the flavour of the sauce to add some fresh or dried herbs, ginger, cumin, or chilli powder if you like it extra spicy. Citrus fruits like lime or lemon juice can also add a wonderfully zingy twist to the sauce and offset the heat of the chillies so well. Another way of adding some sweetness the natural way is with some roasted carrots.

Do you still have questions?

1. How long can you keep the Carolina reaper hot sauce?

You can keep the sauce in the fridge for up to a few months thanks to the acidity from the vinegar. To be technical, the target level pH for shelf food items is below 4.6 pH, but it should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, leaving room for errors. This recipe has a pH of 4.3 so will store well, however, if you want it to last even longer, then add more vinegar or citrus fruit juice (such as lemon juice or lime juice) to lower its pH. Sauces made with fermented chilli peppers will last even longer.

2. How much can you use in one serving?

Due to its mega heat, a few drops are good enough to do the job. It all depends on the amount of heat that you can handle without blowing fire from your mouth. Keep in mind that you are eating the world’s hottest pepper, so start small and add as you go.

3. Where can you get those hot sauce bottles?

You can usually find them in your local stores like Target or Kmart or order them online through Amazon.

4. Can you use other peppers for this recipe?

Definitely! You could try this hot sauce with Ghost Peppers or the Scorpion Pepper for more super-hot varieties, or use something a little milder like the jalapeno, habanero, Kashmiri, or a classic long red for a much milder take.

Drip it over your favourite chicken wings and ribs or add it as a topping to your favourite tacos. This delicious sauce adds a spicy kick to just about anything!